One set of Daphne’s grandparents are winging their way home today after a lovely 6-day visit to the wilds of northern Vermont.

There were a couple lake swimming trips involved, as is the custom here in the summer. First we spent a long afternoon swimming in Island Pond…

Then we took Daphne to Crystal Lake which was as crowded as I have ever seen a beach in Vermont…

But Daphne had a great time swimming at both beaches, which is what makes it all worthwhile.

Having grandparents in town also means that Jen and I get a chance to abscond for grown-up time while we have capable and willing Daphne-sitters. So we ducked out for a few hours on Thursday afternoon and drank slushies (the paragon of maturity) while sitting in Adirondack chairs at The Wildflower.

More than anything this was a chance for us to simply sit together in stillness and quiet…

No nursery rhymes.
No YouTube.
No iPhone videos.
No MarioKart.
No yelling.
No crying.

Nothing but the wind blowing through the trees and an occasional “dammit, I really got slushy everywhere…” comment.

On Saturday night we went out for an (early) anniversary dinner to The Inn at Burklyn, which is something we’ve wanted to do ever since we moved here.

And I can say that it did not disappoint in the slightest.

This dinner was, unassailably, the best one we’ve had since we moved to the NEK.

We started with salads and something akin to a bruschetta, but on thicker and sweeter bread.

Jen had the salmon for an entrée…

And I had the filet.

Both of which were phenomenal.

As you can see we also had a bottle of chardonnay, which is why the above two images will mark the end of our gastronomic photos. Rather than being focused on documenting the proceedings, we simply enjoyed each other’s company and conversation amidst a fantastic meal, followed by coffee and dessert.

Après our lovely dinner we took the remnants of our chardonnay outside and enjoyed the sunset hour of their annual garden party.

Our server also made mention of a “secret garden” somewhere on the grounds, and I will admit that I spent no small amount of time during our stroll with a weather eye out for such a thing.

It bears mentioning again how incredibly thankful Jen and I are to our families. Not just for making the difficult trek up to see us (be it in Saratoga Springs or here in the NEK), but also for going on DaphneWatch while Jen and I get away for a few hours and remember why we fell in love in the first place.

So thank you…

j.s.